A new BSAC centre springs up
NEW BSAC CENTRE DIVERSTIME HAS gone into partnership with inland aquatic venue Spring Lakes to offer BSAC diver and snorkeller training in the heart of Nottinghamshire.
The brainchild of BSAC diver Mark Griffin, Diverstime operates from the Long Eatonbased centre, which boasts a range of watersports over three lakes. With its own dedicated lake for training, Diverstime now also has its own dive shop, compressor and training rooms on the 133-acre site, offering BSAC’ s Diver Training Programme as well as try dives for those thinking of giving scuba a go.
“ Diverstime has grown so fast and I would not have been able to do any of this without my awesome dive team,” said Mark.
Having previously ran a BSAC centre in Alicante with his late father Peter before returning to the UK in 2010, Mark continued to harbour plans to open up a new diving centre, this time closer to home. So, when in 2019 Spring Lakes Watersports Centre opened up in a disused quarry opposite his Nottingham home, he quickly recognised an opportunity.
Initially teaching scuba diving at the Spring Lakes site at weekends, Mark was approached by the venue to become its park manager. He continued to juggle his weekday job with weekend diver training until May 2023, when he finally decided to take the plunge and run Diverstime full-time.
With a team of four, Mark is currently planning on expanding the service Diverstime offers, including snorkel and SUP safaris, as well as opening up scuba opportunities for the local Scouts and Duke of Edinburgh Awards. There are also plans for Diverstime to host a diving festival at Spring Lakes later in the summer.
Now signed up as a BSAC Diver Training Centre, Mark said he was excited for the coming season.“ This journey has just begun for us I can’ t thank all of our customers, friends and families enough.”
For more information go to www. diverstime. com
New scheme for safeguarding in Scotland
FROM APRIL, IT WILL BECOME A LEGAL requirement for anyone teaching children in Scotland to become a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups( PVG) scheme.
The new law will affect BSAC members in Scotland who carry out a‘ regulated role’ within their club in relation to instructing children and young people up to the age of 18.
Coordinated by Disclosure Scotland, the new law comes into effect on 1 April and will affect all Branch Officers and instructors in Scotland who have‘ power and influence’ over children. This includes any instructors from Wales, England and Ireland who may travel to Scotland to teach as well instructors who live in Scotland.
There will be a short grace period of three months following the change in order for those already carrying out regulated roles to apply for a PVG membership.
However, Branch Officers and instructors, including assistant instructors, who are new to their role after 1 April 2025 will have to comply from 1st April.
From 1 July 2025 onwards, it will become an offence for anyone carrying out a regulated role within Scotland to do so while not a member of the PVG scheme. It will also be an offence for organisations to offer any type of regulated role to an individual in Scotland unless they have
received a PVG scheme disclosure.
BSAC is now inviting its Scottish clubs to contact the Safeguarding Team at safeguarding @ bsac. com to start the PVG application process.
For further information on Disclosure Scotland’ s Protecting Vulnerable Groups( PVG) scheme, go to www. disclosure. gov. scot
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